Rome wasn't built in a day. Success doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. Things will change for the better. Patience is a virtue. Now that we've got all the cliches out of the way, is it really that difficult for us to reserve doom and gloom judgments until the season's over? Criticism? Fine, but enough already of these "our season's over" and "I'm not watching any more games this year" pronouncements. The ones that are especially hysterical are the hindsight-is-20/20, rose-colored-glasses comments about how great all our former players were. Anyone remember these? + Kenny Smith is a weak defender and reeks of inconsistency. Trade him now! + Vernon Maxwell jacks up stupid shots and has a horrible shooting percentage. Trade him now! + Robert Horry acts like he doesn't even care. Wasn't this guy supposed to be the new Scottie Pippen? Trade him now! + Mario Elie cannot create his own shot. All he can shoot is 3's, he's got no go-to moves. Trade him now! + Sam Cassell- Man, he makes some boneheaded plays! And he can't guard opposing PGs worth a damn! THN! Sampson's a wuss, Thorpe can't shoot from beyond 5 feet, Barkley ruins our offense. Heck, I even heard comments about Hakeem's lack of ability to take over games like Jordan and comments along the lines of "It would have been much better if we had picked Jordan." I don't make these things up. Anyone who's watched the Rockets through the 90s and listened to talk radio in Houston knows exactly what I'm talking about. Everyone got criticized from the championship team, except for maybe Hakeem. Our team now is like the Rockets from 1990. Give them 3-4 years, once the Lakers and Kings and Mavs have had their runs, and we'll be up there fighting for the championship. But, you know what? It probably makes little difference. You can't convince naysayers to change their ways. And that's cool- what fun would a forum be without hearing the death sentence of the Rockets after every loss? I just think it's somewhat silly, though. Me? I'm traveling down to Houston from Lubbock on the 27th, and I'm going to visit the Toyota Center on the 29th when the Rockets beat the Sonics. Let's support the team! We're the 6th best franchise in league history! Isn't it more fun to be positive? Heck, yeah! I can smell a championship run in 1-2 years! I mean, really, aren't the Rockets the best franchise in the NBA? Who would you rather root for than Houston?? Utah?? Lakers?? Spurs?? Heck no!! I am proud to be a loyal Rockets fan. And I'm proud to be associated with the absolute best message board for any NBA team, bar none. Just part of what makes the Rockets the best. !!
I would like to add something to my Up With People, positive diatribe. In a way, I think that extreme negativity is, under the surface, a good thing in that it shows people care about the team. I mean, the people that post on this board, even the gloomiest of the gloomy, are better than 90% of the fans out there. Could you imagine if all 41 home games at the Toyota Center were filled with nothing but ClutchCity.net posters? We'd put Arco Arena to shame! It's a shame that many in my hometown aren't as passionate about the team as the posters here are. Heck, we've got people living on other sides of the world from Houston that would give an important body appendage in order to see a Rockets game in person. So, I just wanted to reiterate that I don't think it's wrong to be negative- and that, in actuality, it can be seen as a very positive means of expressing concern for the direction of the team. At the same time, maybe some of us are too quick to pronounce us as dead and gone for the season?
Hakeem erased a lot of the inconsistencies and errors his teammates produced. He was the leader of the old Rox team and literally carried them on his shoulders (in two decades). Francis produces a lot of the inconsistencies and errors himself. And he's our "leader?" "Leaders" should shoulder the burden of criticism.
Another positive sign is that according to Jeff Sagarin's computer rankings, Houston has had the sixth toughest schedule in the NBA. Some of the other Western Conference playoff contenders' rankings are Strength of schedule 5. Memphis 6. Houston 7. Lakers 8. Dallas 10. Utah 12. Minnesota 13. Portland 14. San Antonio 21. Seattle 25. Denver 26. Phoenix 28. Sacramento Sacramento has benefited from a long home stretch at Arco Arena.
I'm not normally someone who just posts to say "I agree" but you covered everything I would have said had I decided to make this thread. Good job.
But the poster you responded too has a point. In that, the indiscretions of certain players will be tolerated and accepted when/if Yao becomes great enough to offset these problems. All championship teams have their weaknesses, but their best player usually offsets that, and then some. In the end, it doesn't matter if Steve or Tinsley is our PG. It doesn't matter if Cato or Kurt Thomas is our PF. It doesn't matter if Mobley or ManGino is our SG. We already know that Steve is not a lead, championship caliber PG. We already know that Mobley is not a lead, championship caliber SG. So unless Yao develops into an unstoppable, MVP caliber player, then this team won't be a championship contender. Period.
I agree wholeheartedly. We are still learning a new system and against the stronger teams we may not look like we have it all together. I personally don't believe that the sky is falling, especially considering that our current losing streak is against the defending NBA champs. We will not see what this team can really do until the playoffs, which I see as a virtual certainty the way we have been playing against the second and third tier teams. We have even held our own in a couple of games against top tier opponents and as this team starts to gel within the system, I think we will see more wins against those teams as well as more blowouts against second and third tier teams. Patience is a virtue that many on this board have yet to learn.
You're totally right. However, it doesn't change the fact they just lost twice to Spurs in arguably the ugliest games I saw. I hope this is as bad as thing get for the Rox. So we can't go nowhere but up.
Did you have to sit through the game vs San Antonio when we had 25 points at half time? I didn't think so. Therefore I have earned the right to whine/complain/demand trades/etc all I want. When those teams you mentioned lost, it wasn't like this. They could score on a 2-on-1, they didn't have a hard time bringing the bal up court when there is no pressure on them. They made no excuses and played like a team. This squad is wearing me thin. This team is testing the greatest of fans.
I'm coming around to this thinking too Codell. All of the upside on this team is about whether or not Yao develops. Nowhere was this more apparent to me than in the second Spurs game. When Yao came back in the 2nd quarter and the team started playing around him, it was really awesome to watch. We had a breakdown late in the quarter and in the second half, but it really showed that the team is dependent on Yao playing well. One of the things I'd like to see the team try to do is to let Yao shoot through his problems. Especially in the 2nd Spurs game after he missed his first 3 shots, 2 of them went right in and came out. If he's open like that he should keep shooting. Give the big guy 25 of those shots a game and I think the team would better off compared to what the offense normally does. It just seems to me like it's worth a try, although probably impossible considering our personnel.
Well, the only thing I wonder is if Yao can be the "dominant" center. That would mean more responsiblity on his shoulders. Does he have the killer instinct? Does he have the physique? The endurance? If he's not at the same level as Hakeem, then we can't use the same formula for sucess that we've used in the past. That would mean that we'd need MORE talent on this team to make up for the lack of "ability" that Yao would posses in order to get similar results. Just for example (on a ranking scale of 1 to 10; 10 being the best): If Hakeem was a 10 out of 10. Hakeem 10 (Drexler 9) Smith 5 Maxwell 5 Thorpe 5 Horry 5 Then... Yao 7 Francis 6 Mobley 6 JJ 6 Cato 5 Lets say that Yao improves to... Yao 8 Francis 7 Mobley 7 JJ 6 Cato 5 I'd say, we'd still need a lot more talent. Yao being an 8 wouldn't be enough. Not with our current roster.
No, I agree with you- and harsh criticism, like I said, is good (at least we care enough to vent!). At the same time, if you want to see the 2 worst displays of Rockets basketball, watch the second half of games 1 and 2 of the 1994 playoffs against Phoenix (the ones that earned us the Choke City moniker for a few days). I remember every shot, every mistake like it was yesterday. It was the worst display of Rockets basketball I had ever seen that was only erased by some of the best Rockets basketball through the next several games. It was a horror show.
One of the toughest things for a rookie to learn is that over a long season, you can't get too high after a win or too low after a loss. You have to develop patience, keep your mind on the next game, and your eye on the horizon. Sorry for the mixed metaphor, but it's something most fans never learn....
This isn't necessarily related to any thread, but Pig Miller was signed by the T-Wolves and should be getting some PT against the Rox on Wednesday.
JJ a 6? ... The "Killer Instinct" ? Dont give me that crap, if I had to decide then only the big 3, Bird, Magic and MJ, have had KILLER INSTINCT. It's more of a common sense, bball iq and obedience that we're lacking now. Tho I do think that JVG is trying to fit a cage on to a bunch of overgrown cats =[ "Play to your strength", I doubt that JVG knows this phrase.
man i can tell that everybody loves this team because they we complain and get pissed ever time we lose, i know some ppl do it more than others but its like a love hate relationship
